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Tag Archives: lacto

From Trading Post Brewing in Langley comes their “Dark Tart Farmhouse Ale” a beer that is a blend of half a batch of and dark saison and a half batch of unhopped saison with brett and lacto. The beer poured a deep copper colour with a tan head. The aroma consists of mild tartness and a sour cherry, plum, sweetness and some spice. The flavour is of mild tartness, dark cherries, plum, lots of dark fruits, some spice and some bitterness to finish it off. The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 20. This is an odd beer in some ways but it is a very refreshing take on a wild saison and I would drink this any time.

Commercial Description: Light tartness and rich cherry, plum, and spice flavours come together to create a complex and rustic take on the farmhouse ale. This ale is made by blending two separate beers together in order to establish a balance between the flavours of tart cherry and spiced plum. The final product is a rich mahogany farmhouse ale that provides warm and fruit for the approaching autumn.

From North Vancouver’s Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers comes their “Kriek (Cherry Sour)” a barrel aged sour ale. The beer pours a light pink colour with a very small head. The aroma consists of cherries, tartness and lots of sweetness. The flavour is of cherries, lacto tartness with a fairly dry finish. The alcohol content comes in at 5.6% with an IBU of 2. This is not a perfect Kriek as it does not have a ton of depth but it is still well worth trying out.

Commercial Description: Barrel fermented wild ale aged on cherries. This lambic style sour was fermented and aged in barrel with our house blend of wild yeasts and bacteria. It was then aged for six months on tart cherries. A tart, refreshing profile with a pleasant acidity and a juicy finish. Enjoy now or cellar for later consumption.

From Ridge Brewing Company in Maple Ridge comes their “Pride Beer Berliner Weiss”. A portion of the profits from this beer go to a local LGBTQ group. The beer pours a golden colour with a white head. The aroma consists of sweetness, juicy fruits and a mild tartness. The flavour is of tons of fruit including citrus, melon and apples, with wheat and lots of tartness from Lacto. The alcohol content comes in at 3.6%. I’m a fan of the Berliner Weiss style and this one is no different. It has lots of flavour with a good tartness hit.

Recently two very well respected breweries in Metro Vancouver partnered up to make a collaboration beer. Steel & Oak Brewing in New Westminster and Four Winds Brewing in Delta brought their differing expertise to the table to make a beer that bends the styles that both breweries make. Steel & Oak are well known for their Smoked Hefeweizen as well as other smoked beers and really don’t move outside of the German purity laws. On the other hand Four Winds Brewing has enjoyed huge success with brewing beers infected with wild yeasts and bacteria to make sour beers. Together they have created the “Grätzer: Smoke & Sour” a Polish style smoked wheat beer with sour notes. The beer pours a very dark copper colour with a thick tan head. The aroma is dominated by smoke with hints of some citrus lying below the surface. The flavour is dominated by smoke even though the smoke is not strong with notes of mild sour from lactobacillus, citrus, wheat and an almost salty aftertaste that can be found in Oyster Stouts (which would lead me to believe that is part of the oysters flavour although I don’t eat them). The alcohol content comes in at 4% with a very low IBU of 8. This beer is a very interesting creation to be sure and if you enjoy smoked beers you will probably quite enjoy this beer. I am not usually a smoked beer fan but the smoke on this isn’t overpowering but the oyster like finish at the end was not to my taste. I am called crazy all the time though as I only enjoy one type of seafood in fish. I am quite sure most people are going to really enjoy this one!

Commercial Description: This Lacto fermented, Oak Smoked Wheat beer is not for the faint of heart. Smoke, spice, and a slight sourness give this bold Polish style beer a surprisingly balanced aroma and flavour.